Tag Archives: Discipleship

Called to Serve

Ordinary Time

January 15, 2023

Scripture Reading: John 1:29-42

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter). John 1:35-42

The story of John’s disciples leaving him and immediately following Jesus is somewhat truncated in the telling. We do not know how long John had been preaching that the Messiah was coming. His disciples were probably well versed in the scriptures from the prophets and most likely had heard John refer to him as the Lamb of God. After spending time with Jesus, John’s disciples accepted him as the One and immediately went to bring others into the group. Andrew’s first response was to tell his brother, Simon Peter.

I have always assumed that Peter was the older brother, which may or may not be true. He was a leader, a take-charge person, and somewhat impulsive. At the beginning of Peter’s relationship with Jesus, he was not necessarily the kind of person one would describe as a rock, but he became one.  Jesus saw that trait in Peter from the beginning. Even though Jesus chastises Peter at one point, saying, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ (Matthew 16:23). And at Jesus’s trial, Jesus said to Peter, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ (Matthew 26:34) Yet Peter became a rock for the beginning of the church.

We are each called for service that only we can do with the guidance of the Spirit we need to fulfill being the person God created us to be as we fulfill that calling. We may not be Peter, but we would never have had Peter without Andrew.

Prayer: Lord, help us to find our calling and guide us in fulfilling it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Covenant

Discipleship

February 16, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:2-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

There is value in hindsight. Much of what Mark writes is from that perspective. He reports Jesus ordering his disciples not to tell who he was. According to Mark, Jesus even instructed the demons he cast out not to tell who he was. A key phrase in the above scripture is until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. The world of first-century Judea and Galilee was full of self-proclaimed prophets and messiahs. It was as hard, to tell the truth from fiction then as it is now. They did not have as many sources of information or fact-checkers checking fact-checkers as we do now. The proof is often in the outcome.

Systems theory tells us that people have a strong need to hold on to what is comfortable. This process is called homeostasis, the tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, a tendency toward maintenance of relatively stable social conditions among groups with respect to various factors (as food supply and population among animals) and to competing tendencies and powers within the body politic, to society, or to culture among [people]*. People are more comfortable with clinging to what they know, even when it may be bad for them. As a social worker dealing with families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children many years ago, I observed this in my clients. I remember one competent woman whose husband had deserted, leaving her with three small children to raise. A new, small factory opened in her town, and I encouraged her to apply for a job she did and was hired. I continued to visit her for a few weeks after she began working. She was very reticent, scared even, that this would work, but she stayed with it. About six months later, I got a call from her. She had had an emergency appendectomy. I stopped to see her at the hospital. She wanted to thank me for pushing her to make a move out of poverty. Medicaid had paid the birth of her last child. The insurance provided by her employer covered her appendectomy. She could not believe the difference in the way she was treated. A beautiful vase of flowers from her co-workers was on the bedside table. She had made the transition from one comfortable but limited homeostasis to another that allowed her to be more fully the person God had created her to be. She did all the work; I had only planted the seed.

Jesus was planting seeds with his disciples because they were not yet ready to move from the safety of their known world. Following the Resurrection, the disciples moved to new homeostasis where they became the seed planters for a better, stable reality wrapped in God’s love. We, as disciples, continue to hear and respond to that call today.

Prayer: Lord, help us plant seeds of love that guide others to become seed planters too. Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/homeostasis

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

There is no Magic Wane

Epiphany

January 17, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ We have morphed into a society that longs for magic wanes to wave and get whatever we want. I do not understand from where that attitude comes. Most people would not word it that way, but I think it describes well our attitudes. We hear about white privilege a lot these days, and I know that is real. I think we may also need to deal with the concept of privilege being expected in most aspects of our lives. Parents bribe schools so the school will accept their children who might or might not otherwise be accepted. Wealthy, influential people are trying to go to the front of the line for the COVID-19 vaccine. A young woman attacked a 14-year-old claiming he had stolen her phone when he was using his phone. She thought she had done nothing wrong.  People think being required to wear a mask to curb the spread of a deadly virus is an infringement of their first amendment rights. A mob storms the Capitol of the United States, resulting in five people’s deaths and many injuries because their candidate did not win the election.

Privilege is not a new phenomenon. Amos addressed it when he described some of the women of Israel; he called the Cows of Bashan (Amos 4:1-3). Cows are fed well as they are prepped for slaughter. Greed and lust for power always pave the road to destruction.

As we start a new year and a new administration in Washington D. C., let us evaluate ourselves for attitudes and actions that are not of God but represent the privilege we have come to expect.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when our self-centeredness and self-righteousness prevents us from doing your justice. Show us the better way. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Christ is Risen!

Easter

April 12, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

The gospels render the events of the resurrection differently. I have heard police inspectors say they are more suspicious of witnesses’ accounts that all match entirely than the ones that differ somewhat. We all remember events through the filters of our lives. What does seem to be consistent is fear, joy, and scant memories of Jesus saying something about coming back from death.

The other consistent messages were “Do not be afraid” and “go and tell.” Go and tell the disciples I am alive. Both instructions ring in our ears today. The commands still apply to be fearless disciples and to go and tell the whole world that Christ has Risen!

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your incarnation, coming to dwell among us modeling wisdom and truth, and we thank you for the wonderous gift of your life, which brought us salvation and open the door to creating a world ruled by love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Doers of the Word

Living in the Spirit
September 30, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:13-46

‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. –Matthew 21:28-32

I worked in a nursing home when I was in high school. The experience was a great education. We had a tiny very fragile patient who suffered from some disease that left her permanently fixed in a near-fetal position with rotting flesh resulting in multiple, untreatable bedsores. She could no longer talk but was alert enough to let you know what foods she did not like. She spat out pureed spinach immediately when it entered her mouth. We quit putting spinach on her plate. We could feed her vanilla ice cream anytime. A son visited her at least once a week. He arrived on a motorcycle wearing a leather jacket, headband, and jeans. He did not say much would greet us if we greeted him but that was about it. He stood by his mother’s bed and held her hand or brushed the hair off her forehead. He always brought vanilla ice cream and fed it to her.

His sister and her husband came once while I worked there. They lived in another state. Did not have anything to do with her brother, I discovered when I mentioned that he visited a few days before they did. The sister responded angrily at her mother’s condition, demanded to talk to the doctor, and threatened to sue for neglectful care. The doctor came to the home and explained the nature of the disease and that her condition would get worse. He had contacted scientist trying to find better treatments and assured her that all that could be was being done. The daughter spent very little time in the room with her mother and after the discussion with the doctor she left. As far as I know, nothing resulted from her visit. I am an advocate for justice, and if I thought a nursing home was providing substandard care, I would bring it to the attention of authorities, which was not the case in this instance.

In our society, we seem to invest a lot of time and energy getting bent out of shape over the behavior of others without considering what God is calling us to do. Christ calls us to love one another not judge the other.

Prayer: Lord let our lives reflect your love to all who witness our actions. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Discipline

Eastertide
May 26, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.—1 Peter 5:6-11.

I do not know about you, but I am very disciplined about the things I am disciplined about not so much the things I am not. Probably addicted to doing yoga every morning, I must make myself practice the art of putting something up after I use it. One day l I walk into my kitchen and wonder from where did all this clutter come: scissors two inches from the draw in which they belong, two cutting boards, the strip of cellophane recently torn from the top of a bag of coleslaw. Putting away or throwing away similar items seems to be in the DNA of most of my friends.  Once I discover my untidiness, I improve for a few days, but then there it is again.

The truth is there are some things that are a part of our being that we do by rote, which is not discipline. To me, discipline means doing the right thing every time whether we want to or not. Now that is a tough order, and it is what  Peter is calling us to do regarding our discipleship.

Much of discipleship’s discipline involves getting relationships right, loving our neighbors, wanting the very best for them, all the time every time. People say things to us that came from something that happened to them earlier in the day or in life and had nothing to do with us but it hurt anyway. At another time,  we go off on something that causes pain to another with no idea something about the same issue impacted their life. How do we learn to weave ourselves together as the one Body of Christ? Our scripture today speaks eloquently. God enables our discipline. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. . .the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. God can and will enable our discipleship when we let God.

 Prayer: God, make us whole, make us one. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Open My Ears

Epiphany
February 26, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 17:1-9

While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’ –Matthew 17:5-8

Many years ago, while visiting a friend, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, I toured the University’s Memorial Museum while my friend was in class. Rounding a corner to enter the next exhibit I encountered a gigantic stone object of worship used by an indigenous group from the southern hemisphere of the Americas. My immediate reaction was to gasp and scream almost simultaneously.  Once I figured out what I was seeing, I quickly glanced around to see if anyone heard my embarrassing outburst. At least no one came running. The staff perhaps were acclimated to such behavior. I tell you this as preface to saying: I do not have a clue what happened at the Transfiguration but I feel confident, unlike my experience with a large rock, something life-changing occurred.

The gospels indicate that Jesus prepared his disciples well for what was coming. As the prophets of old noted often, they heard but did not comprehend. Wouldn’t you love to have been a witness to the discussions that occurred during those days between the Resurrection and Pentecost. “So, that’s what he meant when he said…” “I was so scared on that mountain, I couldn’t think of anything but surviving.” “How could we have been so dense?”

What are we hearing but not comprehending today? What are we going to do about it? Sometimes the out-of-date words of an old song have great meaning for us today.

Prayer:
Open my eyes, that I may see
glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
place in my hands the wonderful key
that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

 Open my ears, that I may hear
voices of truth thou sendest clear;
and while the wavenotes fall on my ear,
everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine! 

Open my mouth, and let me bear
gladly the warm truth everywhere;
open my heart and let me prepare
love with thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!* Amen.

*Hymn Open My Eyes by Clara H. Scott. See at http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh454.sht

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God’s Light

Epiphany
January 21, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:12-23

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
   on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.’
From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ –Matthew 4:12-17

The writer of Matthew felt a strong need to establish Jesus’ credentials related to Jewish scripture and thought. It is interesting looking back over someone’s life and in hindsight seeing where all the puzzle pieces fit. Though not an exact science, it is often meaningful. Jesus learned much from the Hebrew prophets and John’s ministry; most likely understood from John’s death that Jesus’ death was imminent. Perhaps that is why he returned to Galilee and focused on training a cadre of disciples to carry on the work. One voice crying in the wilderness is not enough.

When I was a child, we laid on the flatbed of a truck on hot summer nights seeking relief from the day’s heat. The only light came from the moon and the stars in the sky and fireflies. I loved to watch fireflies. With all the lights in the city, it is rare for me to see a star anymore much less a firefly, but my faith tells me they are still there. In a world, plush with artificial light, it is important that we remember we are called to be the light of a world that may not see the truth of God’s love because of the flooding of the world with beams of lesser lights.

Prayer: Lord, help us be light to the world that is lost in darkness while at the same time blinded by artificial light. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Cleaning Filters

binging-isnt-a-good-coping-mechanism-so-why-do-i-do-it-21599033Living in the Spirit
July 3, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” –Luke 10:10-11

It is interesting how differently Christians can interpret the Bible. Most of those differences are dependent on the filters within our own minds installed through life experiences. We all have them. Actually we all need them to help our minds compartmentalize and streamline our functioning. Good filters are like traffic laws designed to keep transportation running smoothly and efficiently. Bad filters often result from entrenched coping measures that were instilled in negative situations. I was involved in a car accident a couple of months ago when a car T-boned the back left side of my car centered at the back wheel. No one was hurt and my car is repaired, but two months later, I find myself flinching, when a car seems to be getting two close to my left side. That is a copping filter. Now if it causes me to be a safer driver, it becomes a good filter and hopefully the flinching will subside. If it causes me to make erratic corrections, it could be a very bad filter. If it should have caused me to quit driving at all, it has become a life altering filter.

When I read our scripture for today, I thought of these filters. The scripture is one of the hard sayings of Jesus. While it does quote him as instructing disciples to wipe the dust off their feet as a protest against the people who reject them, I wonder if it is actually an instruction to not let rejection cloud their ministry as they move on to another place and population. He is advising us to keep our filters clean. I frankly believe that can only be done through the grace of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit because sometimes we cannot let rejection and hurts go without help.

Telling the rejecters that the kingdom of God has come near may be Jesus’ way of letting them know that the door to God’s love is never closed them.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in examining ourselves to identify filters that may be holding us back from serving you to our best. Once, identified guide us in letting the bad filters go and incorporating good filters into our lives. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

The Discipline of Love

Hebrews612Living in the Spirit
June 16, 2016

Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:23-29

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. –Galatians 3:23-26

Discipline, what is it exactly? According to Merriam -Webster Dictionary* it is:

  1. a subject that is taught
  2. training or experience that corrects, molds, strengthens, or perfects especially the mental faculties or moral character
  3. punishment: such as a:  chastisement self-inflicted as mortification or imposed as a penance or as a penalty b:  punishment by one in authority especially with a view to correction or training
  4. control gained by enforcing obedience or order (as in a school or army): strict government to the end of effective action
  5. a rule or system of rules governing conduct or action: system of regulation
  6. an orderly or regular pattern of behavior

The word disciple, one who receives instruction from another, one who accepts the doctrines of another and assists in spreading or implementing them,** perhaps has more importance to those of us who claim to be disciples of Christ as it derives from the word discipline.

Paul takes us all the way back to family in describing the art of discipleship to Christ. We are shaped by family for better or for worse, learning how to care for ourselves and interact with others or not learning these things. In the life of Jesus and his teaching, we have received the ways of his discipline. Training not so much focused on punishment but blessed by love. One that builds on the love transmitted to us by our parents and others and, by God’s grace, a love that fills in voids that might be present in our love.

We cannot change another person. We can own our own issues and through the love and grace of God experience growth in our ability to love more completely. Through God’s love and our love, we can share this discipline of love with all people and that will overcome evil.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to love like Jesus. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Discipline

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.